Rough Draft
by Hazelle More
Summary: An unusually quiet Piper McLean is running away from Camp Half-Blood for reasons unknown, and Leo is going all out to stop her and her plans. Would he be able to convince his only close friend to stay with him? Or will he let her go? Will the past wrongs be put right, or will they end up leaving even deeper scars? Post-THO.
1. Part I

**_A/N:_**_ Hmm, where do I begin? First off, the title IS the title, not a VVIP preview or something, okay? :) This story was inspired on two songs - _Rough Draft_ by Yellowcard and _Distance_ by Christina Perri and a mix of Leper muses and own experience. o3o It's loosely set around four years from the events of SoN, post-Gaea war. _

_Di Immortales, this intro is terrible. I'll re-write it later. xP_

_This was supposed to be a oneshot, but I had to break it into three parts because it kept getting longer and longer as I wrote. *shakes fist at Leper muse* Friend-zoning is harder to write than romance. D:  
_

_Anyways, a huuuuuuuuge bunch of hugs and thanks and cookies to S. Layton, for helping choose the title, beta-reading and beta-testing, and convincing me to finish the fic and post it, and helping me out of the scaredy-corner. I owe this entire story and many other story/art muses to his works - and he's also a great, great friend.  
_

_This is for you, Flamingo. Rough Draft is is dedicated to you. Thank you so, SO much. ^u^  
_

_And a lot of thanks for another little friend, whom I shall call Lotus - thanks a bunch for the bugging! xD Hope you like it, and find the waiting worth it. :3  
_

_And a big, BIG hug for you too, reader. You guys are absolutely awesome. Enjoy and review, and keep the Leper/Leoper ship sailing forever! :)_

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_**Disclaimer:** RR owns Leo and Piper and the Camp Half-Blood series, and we all know that. xD Keep trolling, Riordan!_

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**~ Rough Draft ~**

- Part One -

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Many years had passed since the war against the Giants. The fight against Mother Earth was deadly, and caused a heavy toll on the demigods and the world at large. Many of them would remember the battle as the most traumatic experience in their life for many years. Along their journey they had lost too many of their friends. Those heroes would never be forgotten, but always remembered with fondness and honor.

But now, the war was over. Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter, the two demigod camps that had been alienated so long ago, were reunited. Once the War against Gaea ended they returned to their own camps, which had been their real homes for thousands of years; but that didn't mean that they bid good-bye forever. They didn't know for how long this unity would last - but they were optimistic about the future. For once, the demigods were having a quiet time for themselves, able to live almost normally, without fearing or fighting for their lives in every moment.

In fact, several new recruits of the Camp Jupiter were staying at Camp Half Blood right then, on a friendly visit, or a field trip, or whatever you want to call it. They were quite interested to see Bunker Nine, even though it had originally been built to oppose the Romans in their own demigod Civil War.

Leo had the time of his life surprising them with the many mysteries the Bunker hid (he didn't show _all_ of them, though) and even astonishing himself now and then. He had been practically living in this bunker for nearly four years, but it still hadn't stopped startling him. There would be a tiny opening in a wall or on the floor, with a seemingly-simple combination lock or a magical key to open it, and behind it would hide a simple smiley-face key chain. And it would break into full body armor when squeezed.

This bunker was the haven for ADHD kids.

He led them around feeling like the Cheshire Cat that had to answer too many questions –

"Leo, what's this?"

"Leo, what's that?"

"Leo, what's- ARGHH!"

There were a couple of minor accidents mainly due to people being too inquisitive; nothing major. Everyone else had a wonderful time in Wonderland.

He was quite pleased and really, really tired at the end of the day. Teaching was definitely out of his future career choices - he just didn't have enough patience to survive so many questions everyday for the rest of his life. Maybe he would become a firefighter. Yeah, that would be good. If things started getting too lazy he could start a fire himself.

However, at the end of the day he finished off the workshop well satisfied, shooing away the Romans and Greeks off with an exhausted, "That's it for today, lads. Go down to your dinners and gimme some quiet time by the machines. I need to fix up my ears – they're blocked with all your questions. Now… OUT! I am Thor!"

They ran out laughing as he brandished a hammer in the air, laughing maniacally. It was a poor joke, but there were perks to being the Clown of the Camp – everything you would say automatically becomes ten times funnier. The downside of it, though, was that it would make people roll their eyes at you even when you said something serious. Still, he wasn't the best philosopher in the camp – that was the job of the nerdy Athena cabin – and he was fine with the rolling eyes most of the time. So long as they didn't roll them too much and the eyes got stuck behind.

That would've been messy business.

He tinkered around the cabin for some time, cleaning the mess and putting the tools back in their proper places; playing with a few random pieces of metal and wire to occupy his tingling fingers. In a few minutes he had a minute model of a dragon with wings stretched in flight. Two tiny rubies the size of sesame seeds completed the replica, and he set it on a table and stepped back to admire his craft. Leo had forgotten the number of Festus models he'd made over the years – his fingers automatically made a copy with whatever material he had on hand whenever he wasn't focusing on a particular project. He gave them away to friends and admirers, or just anyone who asked for it (the Romans went away with a number of Festus models as souvenirs) and kept making more.

_I should make life-size copy sometime,_ he thought. As soon as he could convince Chiron to lend him five tons of solid celestial bronze for a pet project.

He wasn't hungry. Working on an empty stomach had become a second nature to him ever since he found this bunker; the work itself was quite filling. He told the coffee maker to brew a double espresso (voice commands were very ADHD-friendly) and went outside with the steaming cup.

Leo sat down on a mound on the hill that looked down to the camp grounds. The woods had been cleared in some places – courtesy of the giants and fire breathing monsters throwing bonfire parties in the war – and so he had a pretty clear view. Dinner was over, but there was a cheery fire in the amphitheatre with bright purple flames twenty, thirty feet high. The vague sound of the camp songs drifted to his side when the wind blew in his direction.

Fire. Cheeriness. Jokes. Crazy impish dude living on coffee. Sounds familiar? Oh yes, he was the Supreme Commander of the Argo II, who kept everyone's spirit up throughout the war with his laughs and vegetarian tacos. If it wasn't for his endearing annoyingness that distracted the heroes from everything Gaea used to break their will, the whole war might have taken a _very_ different course.

Yet few saw the pain that was cleverly concealed under the laughs. Few saw him when he was in one of his 'moods' – in which he hid from the rest of the world, showing his suffering to no one. He managed to keep those short and few, and with the Earth Mother and her sons demanding most of their attention in the past few years, he didn't have time to retreat inside his head. But with the war over and their lives returning to 'normal', he seemed to fall back into the impish jock of the Wilderness School. Teasing his way through the day to stay away from the memories nagging at the back of his head - his mother's death, his best friends…

_Hey, hey, stop right there, Valdez,_ he told himself. _Those thoughts are not going to help anyone, much less yourself. Think something else. The sickle moon in the sky, the waves in the beach, the dryad girls in the woods (except Juniper, unless you want the Lord of the Wood releasing the Panic on you) …anything. No being the Grumpy Goose. Shut up. No thinking of past. It's gone, get it? It's gone. Don't you keep returning. There aren't any what-could-have-beens. Now drink that coffee before it gets cold. _

Running away. From the memories, from the thoughts, from the pain. It was always running and running again for him. It didn't make the distress any lesser. A small comfort at the time, distracting himself, but it would always returned; a little worsened every time it reappeared.

Someone was moving away from the cabins and the amphitheatre – apparently he wasn't the only one running away tonight. Leo squinted at the figure – it seemed solid enough to be human, and it was a girl…

A nightly stroll was ordinary and harmless. It wasn't unusual to see a few demigods walking around the grounds in the semidarkness before the curfews hit and the harpies came out on their night rounds. There was something wonderful about the semi-lit strawberry fields and the beach under the moon. But _this_ was different.

Leo ran back up to the bunker and set down the half-empty cup on a table and grabbed his jacket. Something felt wrong. It wasn't his business to keep track of everyone's wanderings, but he felt…drawn. Maybe it was intuition. He rushed through the woods, making a shortcut to the Half Blood Hill, where the girl was clearly headed. A few dryads waved their fists angrily as he broke through some branches on his way, but he didn't stop for chitchat.

"Hey! Where're you going?" he shouted up to the girl who was about fifty meters ahead.

She stopped in her tracks, lingered there for two seconds, and then started running up the hill.

Recognizing the girl and getting thoroughly confused, Leo ran behind and caught up to her halfway up the hill. He grabbed her arm to stop her, who tried to pull herself away before slumping down, looking at the earth.

"Pipes? What are you doing?"

"Don't call me-"

"-Pipes. I know, okay? Don't get away from the question."

The daughter of Aphrodite didn't answer. She was dressed for travel, complete with a backpack and combat boots. She didn't meet his eyes, nor even look at his side – he could barely see her puffy eyes. She sounded like she had a bad cold. Piper was usually a good actress, even her closest friends sometimes had trouble seeing through the charmspeak - but today he could plainly see her crumbling. This was not the Piper he knew – the beautiful, strong, stubborn, persuasive Piper McLean who was the binding force between the Prophetical Seven.

She tried once again to push him away, but the effort was so weak – he hardly felt it. Leo caught her by the shoulders and turned her to look at her face. He thought he heard a stifled sob. She still wouldn't look up.

"Piper…? Are you alright? Is everything…okay?"

He knew that it wasn't. Everything wasn't alright. Everything was _wrong._ Very wrong. If it was alright he wouldn't have caught her here, apparently running away. That was a stupid question. But he didn't say that.

"Piper?"

She swayed on her feet. Leo caught her before she could faint and pulled her into a gentle hug. It was just then that he remembered that she hadn't been around for meals lately. Piper sent word with a cabin mate that she's busy or had an urgent call with someone – and always escaped questions later. In fact, coming to think of it, she hadn't been around the usual places in the camp either. He'd cursed himself inwardly – he'd been too caught up with trying out Daedalus' and Bunker nine's tall piles of blue prints lately. Had she had _any_ food those few days at all?

He thought she would protest and pull away, say she's alright in her charmspeaking and maybe even tell him off for such a daring move. But she didn't do anything. She simply stood there without a word, not a single reaction.

What was up with her?

Organic life forms were not his specialty. He patted her clumsily, trying to be comforting. Leo felt like he should say something. Something to get her talking. Anything.

A quiet Piper McLean was almost as unusual as a talking dragon. At least Leo was able to _sense_ what was wrong with Festus. Pull a wire and tinker with some scales, clean the memory chips and oil the joints and the dragon would be up and snorting flames again. He couldn't open her head and pull wires. Though he could pull her choppy hair, he had a feeling that it wouldn't fix anything.

"You're sick, kiddo. Let's get back to the camp. I'll get an Apollo kid to look at you-"

She shook her head, still not uttering a single word.

"-Or we can go to the Bunker. Yeah, there's nectar and ambrosia, and I'll whip up something from the stores. Just like the old times. Those harpies still can't pull a decent veggie taco. C'mon, I'll get Chef Leo back in the taco stand…"

Piper stifled another sob in her throat. She was so pale, so _fragile,_ like she was on the brink of falling to pieces. He hated his clumsiness when it came to human beings, he hated not being able to pull her back together, he hated not knowing what to do, or how to help. Why couldn't someone write a user manual for relationships with fellow humans?

She made no attempt to stop him when Leo half-led, half-carried her away from the path, into the edge of woods where a glade had been created by yet another monster attack. It didn't seem like she had any more strength left to protest. He didn't think all of her was here, either. This unnervingly tepid girl was not somebody he ever saw in all their years of friendship.

He made her sit down on the leaf-covered ground and took away the backpack. Once again, she didn't say anything.

"What's going on, Pipes? Why are you dressed up in jacket and boots? Where were you going?"

She simply shook her head, still not looking up, weakly twiddling her fingers.

"Were you running away?"

No answer.

Or perhaps the silence was a better answer.

"Is it dad? Did you talk to him? Is everything okay at home?"

She shook her head. _No._

"No? No what? If that warlord satyr has done something or let anything happen…I'm going to fix his memory chips for him."

Another shake. Maybe a ghost of a smile that disappeared before he could be sure.

"Pipes, _talk!_ You _know_ that I'm not good at words like you."

No answer again.

"Fine then. Until you feel like unlocking your mouth, I'm going to poke in your bag, okay?"

Blank.

"You better have something to eat in there. Because, no offense, you look like you could use some, princess."

Silence.

A couple of dryad girls peeked from behind the trees. Leo shook his fist at them. They ran away, probably to start a rumor that Leo Valdez and Piper McLean were having a late night picnic in the glade.

He pulled the bag to him and started rummaging it. Was it awkward poking inside a girl's backpack? Eh, he was the King of Awkward. Besides, she was his best friend in Camp Half-Blood, and she had poked inside his bunker enough times.

"Gee, Piper. You forgot to pack edibles in here. Were you running away to live on water and air only?"

Predictable silence.

"There's only a bottle of water and two wafers of ambrosia! Where _were_ you going to go?"

He took out her purse. It had a thin wad of mortal money – a hundred dollars at most? – and a few drachmas. There was a photo of Tristan McLean with Coach Hedge and Mellie taken at her home, and another folded photo of the survivors of the war at Greece. Several familiar faces waved at him, with a painful reminder of the ones who should have been in there. Funny, there were no photos of the three of them – Leo was sure he'd given both Piper and Jason a copy of their group photo with Festus' head taken at the Bunker Nine shortly after their first quest.

Did she lose it?

But he didn't believe that – Piper was very careful with her belongings. It was she who insisted with keeping the Bunker orderly and neat, and took it upon herself to clean it up every week. He used to grumble at first – he was fine with the mess so long as every tool was at hand's reach. But then he became used to her neat cupboards and _had_ to agree that it was pleasant not to trip over hammers and tool boxes.

Losing a photo of her best friends, the old trio? Nah, that didn't sound like her.

Then again, this silent specter didn't sound like herself either.

"Where was that photo, Pipes? The one we took at the Bunker? I still have mine; I can give you a copy again. Is that okay? Jason probably won't li-Piper!" He broke away mid-sentence because Piper suddenly covered her face trying to cover the renewed sobs. There, he did it. He finally hit the sorest spot.

_Brilliant, Valdez,_ he cursed himself. _Way to go. Keep it up._

"Hey, hey," he whispered, patting her awkwardly and holding out a packet of tissues he just found. "Shh, it's okay, Pipes. I'll give you my own. Let's go back to the Bunker. You'll catch a cold here. Come on, it'll be alright. I'm here, Piper."

It only made it worse. He didn't know what to do – he had never seen her lose control this way. She was always composed and calm, capable of keeping every emotion under control in the toughest moments. The closest was the time she had to leave her broken father – it seemed so many years ago – but even that was nothing, _nothing_ compared to this. At least Jason had been there to hold her while she sobbed out her pain. Leo could only summon tissues. And he hated seeing her in so much pain. She had been a great help in so many levels to him – and wasn't there anything that _he_ could do for her right now?

Praying to all gods that she wouldn't push him away, he hugged her again. She didn't resist; except that the small move brought a fresh wave of tears – did she remember too?

Leo felt like he was stealing Jason's place…

Except Jason had stolen it in the first place.

He had got so used to shutting away his own feelings and emotions, and escaping memories, hiding behind a grinning mask – the sudden resurge shook even him a little.

But he shouldn't let them.

_She_ would curse again.

It took so long to recover from the first pain; he didn't want to take the two of them through it again…

He couldn't let himself get close again.

He couldn't be human.

He couldn't take _her_ through that pain again.

He himself might be able to shut it away; kick a wall, punch a table, channel his pain into his work. But he couldn't let _her_ suffer.

Not again.

Not without so many immortals playing with their lives.

She already had enough. A tool in higher schemes, a favorite pawn.

_Not again. _

He, Leo Valdez, would never let that happen to his best friend again. No. Never. _Never. Did you hear that, you bored Olympians?_

He didn't realize that his own eyes were stinging.

Or that his fists were clenched, trying to drown his own suffering.

He took deep breaths, trying to push back his sudden mood change. It wouldn't do to remember it again. He wouldn't let her leave, but it wouldn't be on his own feelings. He had to find a way around it.

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**_A/N:_**_If you started __ tearing up (which I doubt, D: ) here's a tissue. If you've got any questions, ask away! :) I'll try my best to answer them. (Or not. xDD) Where will Piper go? Will Leo be able to stop her? Or will he go with her? I don't know. _

_Will they end up in a happily ever after?  
_

_Umm...no, I think. D: But don't lose hope, guys. :s  
_

_And yes, I'll update soon! o3o Stay tuned! :)_**_  
_**


	2. Part II

_**A/N: **First off, a BIG I'm-sorry-please-forgive-me cookie to those who had to wait a longer than they wanted to for the next update. D: *gives cookie* I really meant to post this about last week, but got held up due to various reasons (such as the author being a terribly lazy duck who loves to procrastinate). But...here you go! :3 _

_Once again, a huge bunch of thanks to my dear Partner-In-Crime, S. Layton for his awesome beta-reading and beta-testing and Leper suggetions! (Yes Mr. Flamingo, I HAVE to mention you in every fic, because you're good enough to help out in all of them. xPP) And to all of you who read, reviewed, faved and subscribed - you guys are like nectar and ambrosia! ^_^_

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_**Disclaimer:** Rick Riordan, the god of writing and time, owns the Camp Half-Blood series and everything related. *nodsnods*  
_

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- Part Two -

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The glade was quiet except for the usual sounds of the forest at night, and their own unsteady breathing. Leo took a few minutes to reign his sudden outburst of emotions, which went went unnoticed by the shivering girl sitting next to him. Her breathing was interrupted by the sudden sobs. But she too, seemed to be making an effort to calm down herself. When he offered her another tissue she took it obediently and wiped her face. Neither of them could bring themselves to look straight into their eyes.

When it seemed like she was able to manage another reply, he braved another question.

"Piper…_please_ tell me what's wrong. Did anything happen between…you know…" He couldn't finish the sentence, but they both knew the ending.

She shook her head again, taking deep breaths trying to calm down. "It's...It's nothing. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I'm sorry for ruining your jacket."

"Piper!" If his face was an emoticon, Leo was sure that he was a Capitol D-colon. She was doing it again – shutting him away.

"Pipes, I know that you're not okay, and you know that yourself! Why are you lying to _me?_ I don't care if you said it to Drew and the rest of you cabin; but you're not getting away with an 'I'm Fine, Go Away' with me!"

"What am I supposed to do, Leo? Tell you that everything's wrong and get you cursed again?" She retaliated suddenly, shaking with suppressed sobs. "I can't do that!"

"What do you mean?"

She didn't answer, and just sat there shaking with sobs and cold. Leo shrugged out of his own coat and put that around her shoulders – he couldn't risk a fire with so much dry wood around them. He risked just another small hug, and then scooted away a feet to give her some space. He didn't want to force her into confessing – even though he really wanted her to open up and share what was bothering her.

"Piper…?"

She sniffed. "Y-yeah?"

"Were you running away?"

"N-no...maybe."

At least she was talking. Didn't matter that it was in riddles.

This was more like the Piper he knew for five years.

"Maybe? You _were_ running away from camp, right? So...you knew you were going. But you didn't know where you were heading to? Or is it like, you know where you were going, but you didn't want to tell anyone else? Or...gah, Piper! I can't solve your riddles! Tell me what you are up to, please?"

Silence again.

"Beauty Queen?"

"Don't call me that."

"Then answer me. Do you know where you're going?"

"…Maybe."

If nicknames were the only way he could get her to talk, he decided that he would threaten her all night with titles until she confessed. It took another minute to realize that she might be giving two-word answers simply because she had no strength to manage a long reply.

He took out the Ziploc bag again and handed her a wafer of ambrosia, which the daughter of Aphrodite obediently took with a word of thanks. When she had finished the wafer he handed her the bottle of water. She looked undeniably better after the immortal food. The fact that she hadn't burned up after a whole bar of ambrosia showed how much she had _needed_ it. He was going to make sure that she had a hearty meal everyday now on. Drag her down to the Mess Hall with her hair if he had to. Or make a robot to feed her every six hours, four times a day. That wouldn't be too hard – the robot could even look like Festus! A dragon babysitter would be cool. Definitely better than Tia Callida and her fire place cribs.

The moon shone brightly overhead. Someone said that October full moon was the Hunters' Moon. Who was it? Probably Tia Callida herself. Maybe an old wives' tale she picked up somewhere. Wonder what else the gods did to keep themselves amused other than picking up everyone's gossip and curse the occasional mortal or demigod. He was just going to ask how tall the dragon babysitter should be when he remembered that Piper was going away.

ADHD could be _so_ annoying. The son of Hephaestus hit his forehead with the Ziploc bag. "_Focus, me!_"

"You Better, Princess?"

"Yeah. Thanks." She gave another small smile.

"You're still leaving, Pipes?" Try as he might, he couldn't keep away a hint of disappointment in his voice. Not something he intended.

_She's only my friend. Remember that. She belongs with Jason._

_Remember the last time._

"Leo…"

"At least tell me where you'll go? Chiron and others are going to get alarmed when you disappear, Piper. You're a counselor. You can't just…just run off, right? And what will I say to anyone who asks? That I waved a hanky and wished you 'bon voyage, come back soon!'?"

She didn't meet his eyes, shredding a blade of grass into tiny pieces. "I'm…I'm not coming back."

"You are. You will."

"I can't."

"Are you going home?" he ventured a random guess. "But Camp Half-Blood _is_ our home! You know we'll never be safe in our own places. And you'll put everyone else in danger too."

"I'm not going back home. Dad's away, anyway – he went away to Canada for a shooting."

Tristan McLean was still a famous star in Hollywood. And despite the efforts of both father and daughter, they still didn't get enough time to spend with each other.

"Camp Jupiter, then?"

To Jason. That would make sense.

"No."

"Where, then?" He was running out of demigod-friendly places that she could be heading to.

"I…I can' tell you."

She seemed extremely afraid of telling him where she was actually going – how many times had he asked her already? What could have been so scary, that she wouldn't even say the name?

"Why not, Pipes? You _can_ tell me…"

"I…can't..." She threw a fearful glance up at the sky for a split second before setting her eyes back on the earth and her twiddling fingers. There was a dusting of finely shredded leaves on her lap. The moon hid behind a cloud, taking away most of the light they had on the glade.

Leo glanced up himself. In a second, it all came rushing to him.

"No. NO!"

She didn't look up to him.

"Piper…You can't be serious! You can't… You _can't_ become a…"

He didn't even want to think it.

"Why? I thought you liked Thalia..." The daughter of Aphrodite's attempt at making a joke of the situation was…feeble at the kindest.

"Piper… _No_."

"Yes."

"You_ can't_ join the Hunt. What will your Mom say? What will Jason-"

"…D-don't…"

Her expression was unreadable in the half light – it was such a mix of emotions. But Leo heard her well – and heard the fear in it. She was scared of it. Both of the future, and what she was leaving behind.

He also heard her stubborn decisiveness.

Typical Piper.

"But why? What will I say to Jason? He's going to kill me when he hears this!"

Yes. Leo was shutting away his own feelings as well. He was a pro since his early teenage years.

"Jason's…not going to kill you."

"Really? That's nice. But I think he will. You're his goldfish—I mean, _girlfriend_, remember? He's not going to take it nicely if you're suddenly out-of-bounds. And who will he kill? Me! I'm supposed to look after you for him. He made me promise before he went back to the Romans!"

"He wouldn't bother you." Her voice was emotionless, almost hollow. "Not…now. He's busy."

"What d'you mean? He's _busy_?" Too busy to care for Piper? Is that why she was running away?

"Well…his mind's otherwise occupied. He won't bother you as long as a certain daughter of Mars is 'living up to the values and traditions of the Romans' and he gets to be 'a true Roman' and not a 'traitor to his blood' and blah, blah, _blah_. Apparently whatever we had...what we thought we had...that was all a mistake. He's terribly sorry for hurting my feelings. But he can't come back because his true family is with the Romans and he should stay there." Piper gave an empty, bitter laugh at the paraphrasing. "It took him a little too long to realize. You don't need to worry about him. I promise."

A certain daughter of Mars...?

"Do you mean…_her_?"

"…Yeah."

Oh.

Leo knew her. 'Olivia' or something like that. She joined the Legions fairly recently, and even though she had no credentials or legacy status, she was invited to join the exclusive First Cohort the very first day, and earned her legionnaire tattoo within a fortnight. From the way his other Roman friends talked about the new recruit, he knew that she wasn't a favorite. The kindest way to describe her would be that she was a drop-dead gorgeous, stunning and cunning; a confident snake.

Whose fangs could really, _really_ hurt.

"He'll get over it. Honestly, what does he see in her? You should have seen Reyna or Hazel talk about her – I learned some _very_ complimenting Latin words from their description. Don't go away because Jason was being a…a jerk! Sorry if that was harsh. But you deserve better!"

She didn't reply. The moon reappeared, and Leo saw her tear-glazed face in the pale light. How much heartbreak could one person survive? How many times did you have to suffer through that pain to get _that_ look in your eyes?

"Don't go away, Piper," he said gently, his own heart feeling punctured and empty. "We'll miss you."

She wouldn't look up.

"I'll miss you."

She shook her head. "D-don't say that…"

"But it's true."

"No. You have friends. Other friends who aren't as…as stupid as _me_. You'll be fine."

"You're _not_ stupid."

She sighed, her voice shaking. "Whatever."

Leo pulled her to face him. It shocked himself that he dared to do that – he had to keep reminding himself that she was only his best friend, that there could never be anything more. He told himself that it was the only reason that he wanted her to stay at the Greek camp.

"Don't go, Piper."

She finally looked up at met his eyes. Fine, who was he kidding? If there was one person who he couldn't lie to, it was her. He wanted her to stay. And it wasn't only because he needed someone with a level head to keep track of every tool in the massive Bunker Nine.

"I…I can't stay, Leo…"

She started crying again.

"You _can_. And you will! Please…"

"L-Leo…" She wiped away a treacherous tear that came uninvited from his eyes. "Remember the last time."

* * *

_**A/N: **What happened the last time? Why's Piper so scared and desperate? You'll see soon. __Who's Olivia, by the way? Ah, she's only a name in this one, but maaaaybe you'll see more of her soon. *winkwink* _

_Be ready to meet some new...characters in the next part, guys. Maybe everything will be explained then. Sorry if this doesn't make any sense - I'm not entirely sure myself. xP __  
_


	3. Part III

_**A/N:**__ Here you go, the final part. o3o Where (I hope) your questions will be solved. Like I said, you'll meet a couple of new people, but they appeared a long time ago. Sorry about the lengthy flashbacks – hope you wouldn't mind! :)_

_Once again, a lot of hugs and thanks to my superawesomefabulous beta reader, great friend, and Partner-in-Crime Simon Layton for all the encouragement, patience and fellow-shipping of Leper. I owe a huge part of this chapter for him, for setting off the plot bunnies and smoothing out the wrinkles. Keep being awesome, Mr. Flamingo. :D_

_And seriously, guys…the reviews for the last chapter was a dream-come-true! xDDD Hope you all enjoyed the cliffhanger. (I regret nothing! :P) Thank you so, SO much! *cries tears of happiness* :'D_

_Enough a/n now. Read, Enjoy and Review! :3_

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_**Disclaimer:**__ Rick Riordan owns Leo and Piper and the Camp Half-Blood series. I own my Leper Ship Cadet uniform._

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- Part Three -

* * *

_**The last time…**_

_...**  
**_

_...The young goddess flew down after her husband; his moody, dejected countenance worried her. She had never seen him looking so displeased with himself. She had never seen him throw__ away his bow and arrows so harshly. It was his symbol, his power, and his weapon – and he treated it with suitable honor. But not today. _

_She caught up with him near the demigod camp, flying lower and lower, and finally they perched on the sacred Pine tree. Apollo winked from the Western horizon before his chariot disappeared. From here, they could see the entire camp – godly vision penetrating to every end and depth of the valley and beyond. But his sight was set on one corner. She followed his eyes to the hill hidden deep within the woods. It was uninhabited for a long time, until a few months ago when a demigod reopened the forgotten forge. _

_"My Lord?" she whispered tentatively. _

_He sighed._ _"Psyche. Why did you follow?"_

_She held out the handful of arrows. "They fell off the quiver."_

_He took them without a word. Psyche was worried – he was troubled about something. Eros was quiet since he returned from Olympus that morning. _

_"Anything wrong, lord?"_

_"My mother wants to punish her daughter. Or rather, it's a two-way penalty, but I'm afraid that she will be the one to face most of the suffering. And…she is already wounded."_

_"Punish her own daughter? But why?"_

_Psyche knew the girl. It was a still a secret for many that her memories was altered for the 'Greater Good,' to save the world. __Queen Hera had to make those sacrifices – it was a choice between a few demigod lives and total destruction. None of them knew if the exchange succeeded yet. The Greeks had accepted the Roman once he proved his valor, but the other hero was still under an enchanted sleep. _

_But what of the individuals? Would they ever get their true memories back? She, Psyche - once a human maiden that was immortalized to be the Goddess of Soul - knew how much had been changed in certain demigods' lives, or rather, in their _souls_. It broke her heart that these children had given up so much at such a young age, even without their knowledge. _

_"My mortal half-sister called off the Rite of Passage for the daughters of Aphrodite when she became the counselor of the Cabin Ten. She didn't want to see any more heartbreak. And then the son of Jupiter himself broke her heart. __You know how happy our mother was over them, remember? Now she wants the Roman to see what he lost…__" _

_Realization hit her in a second. Jealousy. A cruel, yet effective weapon. _

_The Goddess of Love was not someone to make an enemy of._

_"And she wants…"_

_"…her daughter to fall in love with the son of Hephaestus for a short while. Yes."_

_"But that's an evil trick, Eros! Isn't it enough that their memories were altered entirely, and they now believe that they're only friends so that the Roman can fit in their lives? You cannot do that to your own relatives, my lord…"_

_Eros sighed. "You know better than anyone else about my mother's anger, Psyche. I don't want to put them through it, I really don't! Loves and lives of the demigods aren't our toys. But Aphrodite is both my parent and my superior…__I must obey her orders.__ What if she curses you to punish me too? Wasn't once enough, love?"_

_Psyche looked again at the forge. It was deserted except for two teenage demigods – the demigods in question. The boy – Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, was trying to comfort the sobbing girl. First heartbreak was always the most painful. Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite, was having a hard time forgetting the words Jason told her. Did he really mean them, that they couldn't have anything more than a friendship until he regained his all of his memories, and that he didn't want to be unfaithful to his own home and 'family'? Of course, he tried to smooth it with hopeful words. But the meaning was still clear. _

_And it hurt._

_Lady Aphrodite was angry at the son of Jupiter for upsetting her daughter. She was madder with the daughter for letting herself get cast off. How could she, when the goddess had told her that it was a possibility, an opportunity? That she saw the what-could-have-been, and that she had the power to make it come true? That the goddess _wanted _it to come true?_

_And now they both would pay for the goddess' anger. _

_Eros pulled out two arrows with bright pink and glittery tips. Arrows of temporary infatuation, sparkling and whimsical. There was nothing solid about that kind of love. He notched them on the bow and pulled back the string; but Psyche stopped him, laying her hand on the twin arrows. He looked at her, weary and confused. _

_"If it's __unavoidable__, at least show them the truth. They ought to know it. They have a right to know it. Even if it is for a short while, give them a chance to see what was supposed to be theirs. Your mother wouldn't see the difference. Not if they're soul mates as I know they are. Trust me on this, lord." _

_She touched the tips of arrows, and they turned clear and transparent. Eros shot them at the two demigods across the vast grounds – his aim was perfect. The young heroes didn't feel anything more than a tiny pinprick, but they felt…__**released**__. _

_The Immortals flew back to Olympus. And the demigods…_

* * *

"It wouldn't be like that, not this time," Leo said stubbornly. Would Aphrodite go on her angry fangirl mode again and try to console her poor broken shipper heart? Who cared? Not him.

"I know my mother, Leo…she won't-"

"Then I don't _care_! You can't live your whole life scared of your mother!"

"She – Is – A - _G__oddess!_" Piper pleaded. "Don't forget what she could to you…"

The crazy, stubborn glint didn't leave his eyes. It wasn't that he didn't know that an angry love goddess was one of the worst persons that you could have on your enemies list. As far as he was concerned now, all that mattered was that his last dearest person in this complicated demigod world was leaving the camp, leaving _him_…

Yes, Leo had an unfortunate habit of regularly falling for girls out of his league. It provided a lot of amusement both to him and the other campers when they were all teenagers; he good-naturedly laughed with the rest of them about his sudden infatuations with pretty girls everywhere. If there was a girl in a mile radius and she was hopelessly out of his league, he probably had gone dewy-eyed over her for at least five seconds. But that was years ago, when they were still crazy teenagers. Everyone grew up. So did he. Sure, he still laughed and joked with the other campers, (_nobody – _except perhaps the Stoll brothers – could beat him on the contest for the Clown of the Camp Award) but in a way, he was much subdued on the infatuation department now.

It was possible that Psyche had a part in it.

* * *

_...The other children of Hephaestus had gone down to their cabin exhausted with the day's work. The ship was coming up beautifully with everyone's hard work and dedication. Cabin Nine worked from wee hours of morning to sunset – and it was only when their cabin counselor chased them out that they left for dinner. They were very enthusiastic about this project – it was probably their biggest creation in living memory. The Athena cabin insisted with helping with the designing it to be ultimate battle ship, while every other cabin added their own personal touches to the Trireme. Leo sometimes had trouble listening to everyone – just how many cooks did one soup need?_

_He wasn't alone, though. The main control panel of the ship was a job he worked on by himself – he didn't trust anyone else with mammoth task. While he was taking apart a Playstation to see if it could be rewired into the control panel, he kept throwing sideways glances at his visitor. She wasn't talking. The cup of tea in her hands was getting cold, but she hadn't even touched it. Leo asked a few questions, but her wet-blanket replies made it clear that she didn't want to talk. _

_Yet he knew that Piper wanted company. Why else would she stay in the Bunker when there was a hundred other places in the camp where she could be? He thought he guessed why – it was one place Jason wouldn't visit that day. Not when he had a bit of accident the previous day that involved a hammer and a massive wing and an oar. Leo didn't know what happened between Piper and Jason, but she seemed much shaken._

_Silence didn't work well with ADHD demigods, and definitely not with him. And he hated seeing Piper look so down. She was so obviously and deeply in love with Jason, so why couldn't Sparky keep her happy for Tartarus' sake? _

_"Hey, Pipes? Pass that soldering iron, will you?"_

_She seemed shocked and disoriented for a moment, and then passed the tool with a mumbled word. Leo attached a few wires and then gave up. The Playstation was fine, but he had enough of silence. _

_"Tell you what, I'm going to take a break. Want to come out?" His ship can wait ten minutes, maybe an hour; his friend needed some cheering up. _

_They went out, and Leo cracked a few jokes about the ship and giant Enchiladas- sorry, Enceledus – and their time at the Wilderness school; and a little by little, she started smiling again. __Much__ better. _

_They didn't see the two immortals watching them across the hill, nor did they feel the invisible arrows sinking into their hearts. _

_And then everything changed. _

_But the change was so quiet, and felt so natural, that none of the Greeks – least of all the two teenagers – felt it. It was a normal sight to see the two demigods laughing and joking throughout the day, sometimes even having a friendly quarrel over nicknames and who-gets-the-first-coke. The rest of the demigods loved to hang out with them. Some were even jealous of their simple and easy fun. But both of them felt – or rather, knew – that __this__ was what they wanted. They didn't bother to spoil the beautiful moment trying to name it. _

_Do all good things have to end?_

* * *

_"Leo…"_ Piper whispered, her voice still unsteady. Even so, her charmspeak had enough power to calm him down and make him listen. A tiny part of his brain warned him that he would agree to anything she said when her voice was layered with Charm, but he didn't bother with that warning.

_"C-calm down, Leo…"_

All the tension left his mind and he felt his body relaxing as the message reached every nerve. He tried to fight it – stay stubborn, worried and almost angry – but it wasn't easy when he could hear her sincere pain and concern behind the charmspeak. She didn't command anything. It was just a simple, innocent request. He took deep breaths willing himself to relax, and even his heightened temperature returned to normal gradually.

"Better?" she whispered gently. Leo gave a small nod.

"Curse you and your charming voice, Princess," he said in a grumbling voice, but they both knew that he wasn't really angry. "But you're not charming your way out of my questions and running away, okay?"

She nodded obediently. "Fine. You really want to know it? You haven't forgotten what my mother can do, right? No — _don't _disturb. I know that you don't care and that you'll face anything. But…._I_ care, Leo… You and Jason were my first friends. I can't let either of you ever get under Aphrodite's, or any other god's bad side because of me. You, Jason, every other demigod here…you all will be safer far away from me. Please…please don't try to stop me, Leo…"

"I won't be any safer far away from you, " Leo retaliated. "What if a monster gets me and I need a knife-wielding demigod princess lifesaver to save me? No offence, but most of your sisters don't really match my type of description."

"Ha, ha," she gave a nervous laugh. Her voice faltered. "You don't need me to protect you, Firebender. Besides, I bet there's another out-of –bounds princess waiting for you somewhere with a knife."

"To skewer me, probably. If you really want to leave, at least let me come with you! Two is better than one. I promise I won't annoy you more than ten times a day. Just lemme go get the toolbelt."

"No. You can't join Artemis' retinue…"

Leo stepped out of her hands and stomped around in frustration, swearing alternatively in Greek and Spanish. The grass turned crisp and went up in flames under his feet.

"_Why?_ Piper, you can't, can't, _can't_ join the huntresses. You're too precious! Sure, immortality's cool, and I guess the girls have a lot of fun going around the country chasing monsters for eternity. but you-have-to-swear-off-love-forever! You're a daughter of the freaking goddess of _love_, Mclean!"

Piper sighed. "Leave my mother out of this, Leo. This is _my_ choice. Artemis doesn't care about your parentage. She only wants you to be truly willing. She-"

"-and are you?" He grabbed her shoulders again and stared into her eyes. "Are you truly willing? I don't care about what that Sparky did or said, but you can't give up everything because he was a jerk! This is _your_ life, Piper!"

"…Don't make this hard for me – it's bad as it already is!"

Leo had to concentrate hard not to burst into fire – he could feel the air around them rising in temperature again with his desperation. The girl felt icy-cold under his hands. _I can't hurt her, _he thought._ Breathe. Remember Mom's workshop. Calm down._

"Are you going to leave me? Again?"

"L-Leo…"

* * *

_In a few days, Olympus was in chaos. Gaea was still stirring in her sleep – the temporary setback at the Wolf House only angered the Goddess and delayed the Apocalypse. But it was coming nonetheless. Just as most of them were going to take a breath, word came from the Underworld that the God of Death was missing. Thanatos was never a popular figure even among the immortals of Olympus, but his disappearance was unsettling because of the prophecy. Thanatos __guarded__ the Doors of Death – what chance did the demigods have if Gaea held him in prison? Queen Hera told them to keep calm – __"__time wasn't ripe yet__"__ – but the gods were restless. _

_When the prophecy was giving the gods nightmares on one side, the situation at the Greek camp worried them in the other. Hera's gamble of exchanging leaders was threatening to fail. They hated to accept it, but the gods depended on their children for their mere existence itself. The war against Gaea depended on the daughter of Aphrodite to keep the heroes together, and it included her keeping the son of Jupiter allied to the Greeks. Aphrodite's momentary spite with his regaining memories and rash words, and her curse on the couple, earned her a long sermon from the King and Queen of Olympus themselves. _

_Getting scolded in front of an audience is a horrible experience – even for the gods. Hera ordered her to undo the curse and set things back as they were. _

_Her pride wounded, and her anger increased – the Goddess of Love had to let off her steam somewhere. When she entered the Olympian forges for the first time after a thousand of years Hephaestus was surprised; but he had to watch helplessly as she forged her own lead arrows and left without a word. _

_Psyche had only a few seconds to erase the memories off the two demigods and etch them in their deeper subconscious, never to be forgotten, only mometarily elapsed; the invisible arrows pierced them from behind as they were entering in the dining hall._

* * *

Pain.

Sharp, piercing, excruciating pain that seemed to strangle his breath and wring his heart, twenty four hours a day. In dreaming. In waking. Every second he breathed. A wound that didn't heal. A wound that bled profusely, numbing every other sense. A torture that destroyed everything, taking away even his will to live.

Every waking moment was filled with twisted memories. Sleep brought more torment with never ending nightmares.

Even after four years from that agonizing month, Leo Valdez still couldn't remember anything that happened in that time except for burning pain. He couldn't feel the pain of a physical burn – but the pain of a charred heart was not something he could ever forget.

His siblings were roused in the night with screams, as he dreamt of every person he lost. The pain that never left you no matter how much you ran away, because you could never run away from yourself – it came back. The hollow depth in his guts yearned to fill up. The cracked and broken heart's aching made it agony to live from one second to the next. He heard Esperenza Valdez's last screams in the locked forge. He could see the the laser lights in the night sky that killed his dragon. He remembered the happy laughter in the air when he was…

…He didn't want to even think the name, because that name brought the worst memories, worst pains, worst nightmares. The building of Argo II was temporarily put on hold with the main designer-builder-commander in the Infirmary with a migraine no medicine could heal. Chiron finally had to put him under an enchanted unconsciousness to bring him back – and even that couldn't fully cure him.

He didn't forget it. He didn't want to repeat that experience.

"Tell me, Piper. Are you going to leave me again?"

Tears ran down faster from her eyes when he heard his breaking voice. She had heard it earlier – she didn't want to hear it again.

He was her best friend, the first person who didn't think she was a thief or a freak, the only person who could make her smile in the worst of situations, the one person in the entire world who understood her. Nothing hurt her more than that dejected, broken voice and the defeated pain in his eyes. When _she_ was the cause behind it…

"Leo…"

"If…if you really want to go…I won't stop you."

His face and voice said the absolute opposite. Was it his clown-thing to be able to say and voice two completely contrasting things? But she knew. Piper knew that if she said 'yes, I want to leave, don't follow,' – if she truly meant it – he would listen and honor her wish. He would suffer, for months, or even years…but he would stay out of her way.

_If_ she asked him to.

Because he respected and cared for her more than anyone else.

Because…

…no, she couldn't word it. She wouldn't risk it.

"Leo…I…I _have_ to leave…"

He sighed dejectedly. "Nothing I could say would make you stay, then?"

She shook her head.

Leo looked down to her. In the bright moonlight he could see her eyes changing colors rapidly, and standing this close, he could even see his reflection framed in her kaleidoscope irises. The last time he saw it was four years ago, at the door of the dining hall. It was nighttime too. His last clear memory before the burning. He remembered just one more thing. Five simple words that felt like a soft breeze every time they came up to his mind. Five simple words that felt like a comforting caress when life was too terrible. Five simple words he hung onto like a last straw to a drowning man, even though the memory itself was painful…

_"I will never leave you."_

And now the speaker was leaving him.

He had only one more card to play – the one that both of them were most reluctant to bring up again.

"Pipes…"

She covered his mouth, fresh tears filling in her eyes. "No. Don't say it."

He pushed away her hand gently. His own eyes stung. It was hard to speak through the lump in his throat. But he had to say it.

If he didn't, he would regret it forever.

He closed his eyes, steeling himself. If even this failed, he would turn back and let her go.

"Piper… Listen to me, okay? Just this once. Isn't it…isn't it obvious? You know it, Piper….I _know_ that you do. Look at us. Look _around_ us. It's just the two of us here. Everyone had moved on. The wars, the prophecies, the promises we had to keep, the sacrifices…they're all yesterday's news now. Except _us._ Why are we still standing here? Why haven't I let you go already? Why are you still here? You can use your charmspeak and order me to stay away, but…but we're still standing here, aren't we? _Why_, Pipes?

"You can think, 'Oh, it's okay if I leave Leo, he can move on, he'll find someone else, he does that all the time.' But…it's not true, Piper. I can't move on again. There will never be another _someone else _again. Do you think _you_ would be able to move on? It's a long and painful process. And I've used up all my chances. I _can't_ think of another person again. Not…not after that curse. I mean, look at yourself! You're running away! Running away will never solve it! Joining the huntresses…that's not moving on, Piper. Not even Artemis will be able to make you forget… "Haven't _you_ felt alone, Pipes? You can't lie to me…I have seen how you avoid the conversation and walk away sometimes. You _remember_ how hard it was the last time… Do you think that either of us would be able to survive it again? Will you leave me in this mess, Piper?

"As much as how it is really, really embarrassing to admit – or even dangerous, knowing what your mother thinks - meeting you, being friends with you, falling...falling in love with you… That's the best thing that ever happened to me. I don't want to be alone again, Pipes. I don't want to lose _you_, too. Call me selfish or whatever you want, but… _please_ stay here with me. For me? For both of us?

"Don't…don't be a huntress, Piper… Don't leave me forever…"

He finished.

He didn't know what he sounded like, but he knew that he couldn't manage another word.

It was the longest he had spoken for the whole night. Confessing was hard, and in their position it was almost a death sentence…but he had to do it. If he had to pay with his life for his…love, he would do it.

A wall seemed to break between them – so many years of denying of their own feelings washed away in a tidal wave.

Piper tried to talk, but for once in her life, she was beaten for words. After several failed attempts to reply, she simply buried her face in his chest and sobbed harder than she ever did that evening, maybe her whole life. How did she even decide to leave him? How did she take such a headstrong and rash decision to leave the one person that she truly loved? The only one who knew what they had both sacrificed for the future of the whole world? The only one who made the same sacrifice with her? Leo was left almost struggling for breath in the intensity of her embrace, and he returned it with his own.

They stood there in the glade, hugging, crying, comforting each other and even laughing a little for a long time, undisturbed by none.

There was no taking back of what they said, both verbally and mentally. If there were consequences, they both would face them. But there wouldn't be another heartbreak for them. Not before the end of their lives.

When she could finally find her voice again, she whispered, _"Okay. "_

Leo felt like he could fly to the moon in the flood of elation. Funny how the simplest words could mean so much.

There were no words for his happiness.

Hand in hand, they went up to the Pine tree at the top of the hill. The moon was still shining brightly, but Leo did not feel like it was trying to steal his Piper anymore. No one would ever pull them apart again.

"Tell me again. Why do you want to leave so much?"

She smoothed his brow with trembling hands. " Just gonna tie up some loose ends before polishing our rough draft of a story, Firebender. And I want to do it by myself. I won't take long, Leo."

"Why can't you wait until the morning? It's midnight, Pipes! Wait 'till morning and we both can go!"

"Nope. This demigod can't wait. I'm stubborn, remember? Besides, there are some people I have to meet alone. You know, people like my mother. I'm not letting you two meet until I'm positive that she's going to turn you into some squeaking guinea pig. And…other people…"

He knew who those other people were. "Fine. Well…wish you luck, then? Promise that you will come back. Soon."

His playful tone had returned, if ever so slightly. Piper smiled and patted him in return.

"I said I would."

"_Say it!_"

"I…I swear on the River Styx that I'll return. Happy?"

He smiled despite the building pain in his chest. She _was_ still leaving – it would be hard to get used not to have her around. But she would return. They both would just have to wait for the right time. And the right time _would_ come. And when she returned…well, there would never be another lone journey for either of them.

"We'll see about that."

The camp fire had ended a long time ago. It had to be at least midnight now – or maybe even later. It was a miracle that the kitchen harpies hadn't swooped down upon them. Piper took a drachma and tossed it high, and summoned the Chariot of Damnation with a clear voice. (Leo wished they had bothered to renew their name. The 'Chariot of Damnation' didn't sound very…catchy. Bad for business.) The earth dissolved into a puddle of mud. A smoky grey cab with three shaggy old women in the driving seat pulled up in front of them.

"You sure that thing would be safe?" Leo asked, eyeing the quarreling women. "Stay in one piece, Princess."

She laughed. "I'll try to! Don't go burning up anyone, okay?"

He pulled her hair and ruffled it. "No promises. Remember to keep in touch. If you don't send a message at least everyday, I'm going to bug Iris every five minutes with anon calls."

The Gray sisters honked impatiently. "Are you coming or not? We don't have forever to wait here! Gimme that eye!"

The daughter of Aphrodite turned to him and reached up to kiss him gently on the forehead. Their eyes shone with tears. Neither of them wanted to bid goodbye.

"Come back soon."

Piper nodded, her face shining with glee.

"I will."

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- The End -

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_**A/N:** *hugs pillow and weeps* I will never forgive the Leper-muse for changing the ending. :P _

_Guess it's better than the original conclusion, though. DO tell me what you think, and feel free to offer concrit! :) What d'you think of Psyche's intervention? Would Aphrodite recover from losing her OTP? Do you think that Leo and Piper will have a happily-ever-after? Or…?_

_Thanks a million for the faves, reviews, alerts and general sticking along, everyone. :') I cannot express how wonderful you are. :) **Thank you!**_


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